In atoms, protons and neutrons orbit the nucleus in one or more shells. Each shell has a specific limit on the number of protons or neutrons it can hold. When these shells are full, the resulting ...

(Inside Science) — Scientists have been trying to measure the lifetime of a neutron outside an atomic nucleus for decades, and for the last 15 years, two types of laboratory experiments have provided ...

A few days ago I wrote about how different measurements of the Hubble parameter gave results that didn't quite agree. It's not the only example of such an experimental disagreement. In fact, one of ...

Mirror magic: The "cores" of the exotic nuclei oxygen-22 and silicon-22 both resemble that of oxygen-16, with eight protons and eight neutrons. The neutron-rich oxygen isotope contains an additional ...

For four years, James Chadwick was a prisoner of war in Germany. When World War I ended, he returned to his native England to rejoin the mentor of his undergraduate days, Ernest Rutherford. Now head ...